<p>"WASHINGTON (AP) -- How much is a bachelor's degree worth? About $23,000 a year, the government said in a report released Thursday.</p>
<p>That is the average gap in earnings between adults with bachelor's degrees and those with high school diplomas, according to data from the Census Bureau.</p>
<p>College graduates made an average of $51,554 in 2004, the most recent figures available, compared with $28,645 for adults with a high school diploma. High school dropouts earned an average of $19,169 and those with advanced college degrees made an average of $78,093.</p>
<p>The income gap narrowed slightly from five years earlier, when college graduates made nearly twice as much as high school graduates. But the differences remained significant for men and women of every racial and ethnic group.</p>
<p>Eighty-five percent of people 25 and older had at least a high school diploma or the equivalent in 2005, according to the Census Bureau's 2005 Current Population Survey. In 2000, 80 percent had a high school diploma or the equivalent, and a little more than half did in 1970.</p>
<p>All the usual statistical quibbles apply, of course. Some scholars suggest that a college degree mostly serves to signal that a young person is from a richer rather than a poorer family, and thus more fit for certain kinds of jobs that involved dealing with rich people, irrespective of intelligence. It does appear that the best gain from higher education AS SUCH comes to lower-income families, which is why I post in various threads here on CC that parents at least look at what's on offer from all colleges to which Junior is accepted before assuming any particular college is unaffordable.</p>
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<p>It does appear that the best gain from higher education AS SUCH comes to lower-income families.<<</p>
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<p>I have to agree with this--not only can the college degree mean $23K more in salary and middle class for a lower-income family, the kids of that family can be raised with more resources and go to college, and the grandkids, etc. A college degree can change the destiny of a whole family line.</p>
<p>i don't know, i personally think it's a bit skewed. a bachelors degree almost seems like candy these days - most people have them, and the adults who have them used to be in the minority and therefore are making more money... so i don't think the figures will be that skewed in the future once my generation is looking down on others.. but that's just my personal opinion.</p>
<p>also, my high school senior sister if working full time would make more than that 19,000 drop out rate, so i think that will be increasing as well..</p>
<p>ellen - you are absolutely right - most people on this board have very little idea as to how most of the rest of the country lives. Reminds me of the book the "Bell Curve", which in many respects I found disturbing and wrong, but the first chapter spoke volumes. Herrstein and Murray were bold enough to state that if one was reading their book they were already in the top 15 percent or so in terms of IQ. A bold statement!! Yes, but likely accurate. And I don't mean to be immodest, because the statement would apply to everyone posting on this board as well (or virtually so).</p>
<p>i know how most people live. What do studies say about percentages of people over the age of 50? i'm betting its half that.. which is why i'm saying its becoming more prevalent. what is the current amount of high school seniors who plan to and probably will get a bachelors degree? 50 percent? by the time generation x finishes up school (we are a big generation) that percentage will go up higher.. because it's becoming the standard in most places. Of course there are places where seldom people go to college, but there are also places where everyone goes to college... which is why i'm going with 50 percent.</p>
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i know how most people live. What do studies say about percentages of people over the age of 50? i'm betting its half that.. which is why i'm saying its becoming more prevalent. what is the current amount of high school seniors who plan to and probably will get a bachelors degree? 50 percent? by the time generation x finishes up school (we are a big generation) that percentage will go up higher.. because it's becoming the standard in most places. Of course there are places where seldom people go to college, but there are also places where everyone goes to college... which is why i'm going with 50 percent.
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<p>The group with the highest percentage of Bachelor's graduates is the 30-34 yr old group at 31.5%, hardly 50% as you suggest.</p>
<p>That title is so misleading that it is just plain incorrect. The students who attend college are likely to be more intelligent, motivated, and hard-working from the start than students who do not attend college, and as a previous posted said the students who attend college are more likely to be from families that are better off financially. Each of these would add dramatically to potential earnings as adults. The confounding variables here are way too significant to be ignored and give the statistic very little meaningful weight, in my view.</p>
<p>Herrstein and Murray were correct, IQ varies among individuals and even among varying groups on an aggregate basis, and IQ in general does in fact matter a great deal </p>
<p>However political correcteness requires us to ignore this fact</p>
<p>does anybody have a more recent census? i just believe that in the last ten years or so college became a lot more prevalent to high schoolers - i mean, you have the kids of the parents who went to college who want the kids to go to school, and then you have the kids whose parents didnt go to college and want the kids to go to school -i know thats how my family is. none of my parents aunts or uncles went to college yet all of my cousins have in the last five years - which means we aren't showing up on that census, nor are other people with that same situation. i know prior to 1996 or so not too many people from my high school went to college, but now almost everyone does... which is why i'm guessing that pretty soon it will be 50 percent. i mean, what's the percentage of 23 year olds right now with a bachelors degree? what's the projection for in 5 years? i'm guessing it's going to be a lot of people... because they are becoming like candy and it seems like everyone has them... and when you do have your bachelors degree, do you think you're going to be competing with the kids who dropped out of school for that job? no, you're competing with everyone else who also has a bachelors degree... which means, everyone has one. i don't care if it's from harvard or if it's from the community college. if that person knows their stuff and i'm doing the hiring, i'm going to hire that person... (ie, a degree from harvard or wherever means crap to me... i want to know that the person has understanding and can apply what they learned, not just knowledge of it.. regardless of any fancy colleges name stamped on their resume). i'm going to get my mba which i think will make my credentials stand out a little better in the POOL of people competing for the same jobs with a bachelors degree because in all honesty it feels like candy because everyone has one.. abd even though MBA's are becoming more prevalent as well, they are still a lot less common than a bachelors and it will help me step aside from the masses - at least a little bit... of course that's just my opinion, but i'm not about to change it. </p>
<p>and in my above post i meant to say generation y... sorry about that.</p>
<p>Connecticut has the highest proportion of adults with a college degree</p>
<p>(Washington-AP Oct. 26, 2006 7:00 AM)
Connecticut has the highest proportion of adults with at least a bachelor's degree, nearly 37 percent. </p>
<p>Census data show that Connecticut was followed closely by Massachusetts and Maryland. </p>
<p>A government report released today also shows that college graduates were paid an average of $51,554 in 2004, the most recent figures available. For adults with a high school diploma, average pay was $28,645. </p>
<p>High school dropouts earned an average of $19,169 and those with advanced college degrees made an average of $78,093.</p>
<p>I know what you mean though - one of my close friends was living (in Boston!) on $15K/year, despite 8 years worth of advanced graduate training and an MS.</p>
<p>Needless to say, she now has a lot of debt to pay off :)</p>
<p>You're wrong. Perhaps Washington DC is at 47%, but definitely not Washington State.</p>
<p>CT, MA and MD are almost always at the top of the list, going back for many years now.</p>
<p>See here (this one is a couple of years old compared to the updated one I posted above, but you can see where states fall, generally, and what the range of percentages for States are - they definitely aren't 47%). </p>
<p>From yesterday's wsj (sure these are counties, not states, but you can get a general idea): Most highly educated county in the country: Arlington Co., Virginia - 35.9% followed by Orange Co. NC (31.7), Montgomery Co. MD (29.8), Tompkins Co. NY (29.8), Alexandria Co, VA (28.2), Howard Co. MD(27.6), Fairfax Co. VA (27.3), Washtenaw Co, MI (26.9), New York Co. NY (26.9), Albermarle Co. VA (26.3)</p>
<p>I'm not sure if this is just folk lore of if it's true, but I've heard the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill Triangle area has the most PhD's per capita. Anyone have any proof?</p>